TEPCO to Improve Radioactive Water Cleanup System

Fukushima, April 20 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo Electric Power Co. <9501> plans to improve the capabilities of a cesium adsorption system at its crippled nuclear plant to enable it to remove other radioactive substances as well from contaminated water, its chief decommissioning officer said. Radiation levels in tainted water should be reduced as much as possible, said Naohiro Masuda, who heads an in-house organization TEPCO formed this month to focus on cleanup efforts at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. TEPCO has had increased knowledge of effective adsorbents for radioactive substances, Masuda said in an interview with Jiji Press. The SARRY cesium adsorption system can handle 40 to 50 tons of contaminated water per hour. The water processed by the system is stored at tanks while levels of radioactive substances other than cesium remain high. TEPCO is considering using mobile decontamination devices to reduce radiation in the water stored at these tanks, Masuda said. TEPCO has struggled to contain an increase in the amount of radioactive water used to cool the plant's damaged reactors. The company has a separate water decontamination system to remove radioactive substances other than tritium, but the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) has been repeatedly switched off due to a series of glitches. END